Zoey's story
by erebush6h
Summary: This story centres on Zoey, the red-headed coordinator from the diamond/pearl series. It’s about how she came to be in the Sinnoh region, how she came to be a coordinator, and more importantly, how she came to be such a mysterious and secretive loaner.


I do not own pokemon (or the main character), but if I did I wouldn't have fired the old voice actors!

This story centres on Zoey, the red-headed coordinator from the diamond/pearl series. It's about how she came to be in the Sinnoh region, how she came to be a coordinator, and more importantly, how she came to be such a mysterious and secretive loaner. I have just updated the first chapter and have added Paul to the character list, as I am planning to build up a history between them based on their time travelling before the Sinnoh saga. The story will also explain why Paul is as cold hearted as he is in the series. But be patient, he doesn't come into it for a while. Sorry.

A (not so) little background to my story.

*Eden is a Country that is divided into regions, much like America with its states. Eden is made up of around 30 regions. It includes Kanto, Johto, Hoen, Sinnoh, the Orange Islands and its Capital; Venice/the Venetian region. These regions are all individual islands rather than a single mass of land.

* The Venetian region, a little north of the Sinnoh region, is the largest region and also the capital of Eden. Filled with a mixture of Sinnoh and Kanto pokemon, along with a few rarer ones which are unique to the region, it has a beautiful temperate climate with vast mountainous areas, beach filled coast lines, marshland, pine forests, lakes and rivers along with widely expanded agricultural lands and 3 national parks (the Dawn Forest being the biggest and most famous).

*Like I have already said, Venice is the capital region of Eden and is therefore home to Eden's capital city; Vallomorra. It is known as the capital of both fashion and culture; it is filled with iconic, gothic style buildings, including sky-scrapers, grand gothic cathedrals, two highly regarded Universities, museums and galleries, Eden's parliamentary buildings and huge public parks filled with sculptures and plants, not to mention one of Venice's 16 pokemon gyms.

*In my version of the pokemon world, pokemon trainers need to earn half the number of badges as there are gyms in the region in order to qualify for the pokemon league, i.e. if there are 16 gyms in the region, trainers need to earn at least 8 badges to compete in that regions pokemon league (there will always be an even number of gyms). However, for a trainer to compete against a region's elite 4 and then the champion, that trainer must earn all the badges of that region (it has nothing to do with how well the trainer did/does in the pokemon league).

*However, coordinators need only earn 5 ribbons, regardless of how many competitions there are in the region. A town's/city's competition is repeated once a month for 8 months in order to give coordinators a fair chance at earning the required amount of ribbons, e.g. the Jubilife contest is repeated on the 9th day of every month from Jan to Aug.

* Animals as well as humans and pokemon live alongside each other here.

*Also, trainers don't start to travel until they are 13 but do start 'trainer school' at age 10.

This story centres on Zoey, the red-headed coordinator from the diamond/pearl series. It's about how she came to be in the Sinnoh region, how she came to be a coordinator, and more importantly, how she came to be such a mysterious and secretive loaner.

Zoey; about the family.

The story is set in the capital city of Vallomorra. Here, on the rural-like fringes of the city near the Dawn Forest lies a small middle class neighbourhood, and within this neighbourhood is the quiet and idyllic street in which 12 year old Zoey O'Connor lives. An avid pokemon fan, she is in the last grade of pokemon academy, with only 3 months to go before she graduates to start her journey as a pokemon trainer. Popular among her peers, she is a pretty girl, with green eyes and long, wavy red hair. At first glance she appears to be a flimsy girly-girl, preferring to wear sun dresses and all round feminine clothes, but those who know her best know that she is strong, courageous, determined and very intelligent (the highest scoring pupil of the school in 30 years).

She lives in a 4 bedroom house with her parents, three siblings and the family dog, Marvin.

Zoey's mother, Holy, is a fun mother who has more of a 'friend' relationship with her children than a 'motherly' one, although she has been known to blow up 'mother-style' when the children push their luck too far. She is a pleasant looking woman you would have trouble believing has had four children. Blonde hair with green eyes passed on to her daughters, she used to be a teacher at the local kinder garden before becoming a private piano tutor, whilst still tending to the needs of her two younger children. She is in her early forties.

Her father, Bob, is a hard working family man who always makes sure his wife and children are happy. Now a retired fire-fighter (after being injured on the job), he owns an antique book shop in the city which, according to Zoey, is located down a little alley not to dissimilar to the one from her favourite book (which is about a certain boy wizard- can you guess?). He is in his mid forties with a rugged and broad physique, jet black hair, kind blue eyes and a nose left crooked after being broken in a fight back when he was still a young, trouble-making 'free agent' as he liked to put it. And, although his past sounds a little rough when being recalled, time, and the love of his wife has shaped him into a respectable and kind gentleman. Although, Zoey's older brother, Bart, likes to joke that he wore his father down.

Bart, an 18yr old former menace, is the oldest of the four. And as the first-born he was subjected to endless empty 'threats', countless let-offs, and an all round spoilt first three years of life. But after Casey, Zoey's older sister, was born, he no longer had the 'only child' (or 'test child' as Bob liked to say) factor that had allowed him to get away with being a brat, although he did maintained his menacing ways until the age of 13. Now he is a respectable young man, tall and slim with black hair and a friendly, joking nature. He lives in his own apartment not too far from the family home, he works in I.T.

Casey, 15, unlike her sister has black hair, but like her sister she has green eyes. She is working her way up to becoming a doctor; although you would be forgiven for thinking she is a little ditzy. Casey and Zoey are close, having shared a room for years until Bart's departure left them a room each.

Last but not least there's Joe. Eight years old with a mop of curly blond hair, he to is close with Zoey, who feels protective of her younger brother. He is a talented musician and like Zoey is far in front of kids his own age at school.

Zoey's story

The story began early one Saturday morning;

As Zoey woke at 8am to the sound of her alarm clock she quickly realised that it would be an excellent day to do a little training. The sun was shining brightly on this warm summer's day and since her two best (human) friends, Sammy and Amy, were busy studying for the final exams, she was able to dedicate the whole day to training and playing with her pokemon. It wasn't long before she was dressed and ready to go. Downstairs in the kitchen her mother was waiting for her with her breakfast and a packed lunch, and her little brother Joe was watching TV in the living room. Her father was getting ready for work and her older sister Casey was still in bed.

"I thought you might get up and go out early this morning." said her mother, Holy, "with the day being so nice and all. It's just a shame that both Sammy and Amy are to busy with work to be with you." she paused as a sly grin passed over her lips before saying "Bet you're glad I allowed you to take the exams early huh?"

"Allowed me!?" Zoey said, feigning disbelief, "you were totally thrilled the day my principal told you I was smart enough to take my exams a year before everyone else in my grade."

As Zoey ate her breakfast she and her mother laughed and joked at the dinner table, while Joe sat in the next room watching cartoons, until it was time for her to go on her way. She bid farewell to her mom and dad, who had just come downstairs, ("have any of you seen my keys?"), and the somewhat lazy family dog, before heading towards the door. Her hand was just touching the doorknob when her mother stopped her briefly to remind her to take her pokemon to the pokemon centre after training: "You need to see if the pokerus has passed. OK."

"Sure thing mom. No need to worry!" was Zoey's reply.

*****

Even among students who go to a pokemon academy it is very unusual for a child under 13 to have more than one pokemon, so for Zoey to have three made her highly regarded among her peers. Her three pokemon were; Glameow, Misdreavus and Pidgey.

Her Glameow was received as a gift from her grandmother on her 10th birthday, they bonded instantly and Glameow quickly became Zoey's signature pokemon. Using Glameow to battle other students (and even teachers sometimes) it is easily the strongest pokemon owned by a student at her academy. It's very aloof when it comes to people who aren't its trainer, but to Zoey it is caring, trusting and even a little soppy sometimes.

Then there's her Misdreavus. Always happy-go-lucky and willing to please, it first came into Zoey's life as an egg. Shortly after she got her Glameow, Zoey was asked to represent her school on a pokemon themed TV quiz, with the main prize being a pokemon egg and $5000. The questions round left her tied with a boy from another, more prestigious academy, so a battle was used as a tie breaker. Zoey's Glameow beat the boy's Staravia after ending the long and hard-fought battle with a thundershock followed by a newly learned iron tail. The day Misdreavus hatched was one of the most exciting days in Zoey's life.

Zoey's last pokemon, a Pidgey, was the first she ever actually caught. It first appeared on the roof of Zoey's school. Being a cheeky pokemon, it seemingly delighted in tormenting the children, and it quickly became a race among the students to try and catch it. Needless to say Zoey's cat like pokemon came in very handy for catching a pokemon so high up on the school roof.

All three pokemon, although jealous of each other in the beginning, soon learned to get along, mostly due to Zoey's efforts to get them working as a team.

Her training methods were often centred on developing her pokemon's skills and strengthening friendships. Her idea of training was to play games with her pokemon. These games were often designed to work on such skills as focus, speed and initiative, as well as to have fun and for bonding purposes. In her opinion there was nothing better than being outside and playing with pokemon.

And so, Zoey and her pokemon, after a short bike ride, soon found themselves near Zoey's favourite training spot; a nearby wheat field. She loves the solitude, as well as the sights, sounds and smells of nature, so this spot was like her secret get-away where she could escape to if she needed a little time alone.

She reached the fence surrounding the 25 acre field of immature, green wheat and chained her mountain bike to it before climbing over (technically she was trespassing, but the danger factor made training with her pokemon even more fun).

So, running through the large field, the aim of this particular Saturday's game was for the young pokemon to work as a team and try to catch their lively trainer. Weaving through and sometimes jumping over the tall wheat, the pokemon came quite close to catching her a couple of times. Often when one of the pokemon thought that it had seen its trainer it would quietly stalk her for a while, only to find that it was in fact one of the other pokemon, or a poor fox or rabbit or pheasant. But in the end, after finally getting the hang of team work, the pokemon managed to track their trainer down and surround her so she could not escape them again.

"Good work guys! Ok let's take a detour to the pokemon centre before heading home." The trainer said to her pokemon. They were all seemingly quite proud of themselves, and Zoey was definitely proud of how far they had come under her guidance. As the three pokemon proudly swaggered (Glameow), glided (Misdreavus) and flew (Pidgey) out of the field with their trainer in toe, Zoey thought back with fondness to the tiny baby pokemon they had once been, before the protein rich food and muscle building exercise changed them from tiny babies, barely able to defend themselves, into serious opponents on any battle field.

Zoey was quickly roused from her thoughts as she approached the fence surrounding the field and climbed it. She decided to let her pokemon run/glide/fly behind her as she rode to her next location.

*****

The nearest pokemon centre was in the middle of the city, this meant that Zoey had to take the train in order to get there. After riding her bike along a narrow country lane with her pokemon running/flying beside her (Misdreavus decided she liked the bike basket better than gliding!), she finally arrived at her (small) local train station. She placed her pokemon back in their balls and chained her bike to a bike-rack, ready to board the train for the quick ride into the city.

Zoey disliked riding the train, with its stale sweaty smell and unfriendly atmosphere; it was always a relief for Zoey to hear her stop being called out.

After reaching her stop and exiting the station she only had a short walk to get to her destination. However, as she turned into the street where the pokemon centre stood, Zoey quickly realised that something was up. Standing on the other side of the road, she noticed that there were many large white vans surrounding the centre. Not surprisingly their drivers seemed eager to depart, as a crowd of about 30 people outside the pokemon centre seemed poised to start a riot, shouting and making threatening gestures at the van drivers and some people wearing what looked like white lab-coats. Men who looked like body guards or FBI agents were standing guard, looking very official and intimidating whilst ignoring the upset civilians and talking into their watches. Some policemen were also there, headed by Officer Jenny. They seemed to be in charge of crowd control, some also seemed to be talking to and reassuring some of the less volatile civilians near the edges of the crowd. Zoey then saw some of the people wearing white coats carrying what looked like cages covered with blankets out of the pokemon centre. She then realised that that's what the crowd must be upset about.

She didn't think anything of it at the time, thinking that the authorities had confiscated abused or neglected pokemon like a case that happened in Hoen a month or so before. After all, the pictures on the news showing the guilty trainers protesting at the confiscation were quite similar to the scene outside the centre Zoey was looking at.

So she crossed the road to take her beloved pokemon into the centre, despite the raucous taking place outside.

"Hello young trainer." Said Nurse Joy with what seemed like a forced smile. "Do you want me to check whether your pokemon are over the pokerus yet?"

"Yes please, ma'am." Zoey answered sweetly, handing over the three pokeballs. She also noticed the very official looking 'body-guard/FBI' man who was standing behind the counter talking to another 'white coat man'.

There seemed to be an epidemic of the pokerus making its way around the Venetian region, and many pokemon, both wiled and trained, seemed to be reaping the benefits; non more so than Zoey's pokemon, who all had the pokerus. Pidgey was the one pokemon of Zoey's team that looked like it was ready to evolve at anytime, and Pidgey seemed to be the one benefiting from the pokerus the most. But, even with the benefit it brings, it was still important for Zoey to make sure her pokemon were over the 'illness', as young pokemon who grow to quickly often begin to ignore their inexperienced trainers.

And so, Zoey sat down on one of the centres many large, comfy couches and waited patiently for her pokemon to be returned to her.

Some time later nurse Joy emerged from the centre's back room and headed towards Zoey.

"Here you go sweet heart." Nurse Joy said in a melancholic tone, whilst handing Zoey two pokeballs before walking off.

"Umm… excuse me ma'am, but I gave you three pokemon." Zoey called after the nurse, thinking that it was just a simple mistake.

But, as Nurse Joy turned and looked at Zoey with a sad, apologetic expression Zoey knew something was wrong.

"I'm sorry sweet heart, but you won't be getting your Pidgey back today."

"What are you talking about, did something happen to my Pidgey? Is it sick?" Zoey questioned Nurse Joy in a panicked tone.

Just then Nurse Joy walked over to Zoey and gave her a hug before placed her hands on Zoey's shoulders. She was just about to say something when the 'FBI' guy came from behind the counter and quickly shoved her away whilst saying "remember your orders. No talking to civilians!"

But as she was getting shoved back towards her desk, Nurse Joy did something rather peculiar. She looked over to make sure Zoey was watching, then, when she was sure Zoey's attention was hers, she patted the side of her body in the place a pocket would be if she was wearing pants.

Zoey immediately (but discreetly) felt her jean pockets, and sure enough she felt something there that had not been there before. "Feels like a piece of folded paper, maybe a note." Zoey thought to herself. And as Nurse Joy nodded at Zoey, it was clear that they had a mutual understanding. Zoey was not on her own, Nurse Joy was going to help her find out exactly what was going on.

So as quickly as she could, Zoey ran out of the centre taking with her the thing Nurse Joy had put in her pocket, along with a pang of regret and guilt about having to leave Pidgey behind. She knew that one little girl fighting on her own would do more to bring about trouble than it would to help Pidgey. So she ran around the corner of the street, away from the praying eyes of the ones steeling her pokemon, in order to inspect her pocket. As she reached into her pocket, Zoey realised that the hunch she had was right, it was a note Nurse Joy had given her. She quickly unfolded the ragged piece of paper and immediately started to read:

Bring a parent and meet me in the Harp Inn on Cobble Street at 11pm tonight.

Signed,

Joy.


End file.
